Traumatic, cataclysmic events, whether caused by man-made or natural forces, threaten the safety, stability, and resilience of a community or state. Additionally, massive media exposure given to documenting and providing information, place the media consumers at psychological risk. As an alternative to broadcast news reports, online memorials and disaster archives provide the public the means and central locations for witnessing catastrophic events, as well as collectively commemorating and mourning the tragic losses. According to psychological and ethnographic research, narrativizing the trauma through shared memories and artifacts of mourning produce multiple therapeutic benefits, including the likely development of cognitive awareness, empathy, and catharsis. Complicating these benefits, however, are psychological risks of secondary trauma resulting from archiving and curating disaster collections, and the potential for economic and political exploitation. The participatory disaster archives are embedded in trauma culture, serving as public witnesses to survivors of trauma and reinforcing the medical, social, and civic infrastructures associated with a community's recovery from and resilience to calamities. Ironically, the confluence of public archive/memorials with medical and other socio-technical institutions that facilitate recovery from crises, also contribute to trauma culture's sustenance. This dissertation investigates the effects of digitally archiving and memorializing traumatic events through an interdisciplinary methodology of critical cultural studies and ethnography. I argue that participatory disaster archives may both mitigate psychological risks and augment social benefits through adopting protocols of best practice.

According to the Nielsen Music 360 Research Report, 67% of all music consumers in the United States used digital music streaming services to listen, discover, and share music online in 2014 (The Nielsen Company, 2014). As such, communications scholars and music industry professionals are beginning to recognize the importance of understanding the factors that influence digital music listener behavior. Therefore, this study proposes an expanded theory of planned behavior model (TPB) by incorporating music streaming motives, social identification, and technological engagement into the original TPB model framework in an effort to gain a better understanding of people's intentions to use digital music streaming services as well as the amount of time spent listening to them. Results suggest that both the original TPB and expanded TPB models can be successfully applied within the context of digital music streaming service use. Specifically, attitudes as well as convenience emerged as positive contributors to intention to use digital music streaming services, while entertainment along with social identification, technological engagement, and behavioral intention emerged as positive contributors to streaming behavior. Additionally, information seeking and pass time emerged as negative contributors to these two behavioral outcomes. However, adding these additional components only improved the overall ability of the expanded model to predict streaming behavior. Both models also explained a larger percentage of intention to use digital music streaming services as compared to total time spent listening. As a result, this study implies the practical importance of understanding the fundamental differences between what drives listener intentions to use digital music streaming services as compared to what drives the actual amount of time listeners spend using digital music streaming services.

Nostalgia is a complex cognitive and affective experience and has been described by some as a "social emotion" (Goulding, 2002; Merchant & Rose, 2013; Wildschut et al., 2006). Through nostalgic media experiences, people can develop connections to prior eras or periods in society which are accompanied by a range of emotions and feelings. Perceptions of the past are influenced by experiences in the present. Because of this, it is possible that people's perceptions of their current political climates and society play a role in how they seek and react to media experiences, including nostalgic media experiences. Considering how the political climate is interwoven in our everyday lives, it is valuable to investigate how sociopolitical experiences might influence the motivations to seek nostalgic media experience and the outcomes of this media experience. The purpose of this study is to explore how different affective states related to appraisals of the present sociopolitical atmosphere might influence an individual's media choice, particularly the exposure to historical nostalgic media content versus non-nostalgic media options and how it affects an individual's affective state, bittersweet emotions, media enjoyment and social connectedness. The results revealed that a significant relationship exists between nostalgia proneness and historical nostalgia media interest, yet there was not a significant positive relationship between negative affect and historical nostalgia media interest. The results also demonstrated that the bittersweet emotion and media enjoyment responses of those who were in a negative affective state and then exposed to historical nostalgic media content were significant compared to those exposed to non-nostalgic media options.

Millennials have surpassed Baby Boomers as the nation’s largest living generation. Cultural institutions must reach out to millennial audience to thrive. At the same time, social media has become a business tool used to engage with millennials and build brand loyalty. Cultural institutions must learn how to effectively utilize social media. In this project, you will find three case studies of cultural institutions who have used social media in a variety of ways to successfully reach out to millennials. In this project, the author attempts to study three award-winning cases of cultural institutions who have used social media in a variety of ways to successfully reach out to millennials.

<p> In recent years there has been a marked shift from face-to-face communication to computer-mediated communication. This shift has also led to changes in the way families communicate as, more often than ever, social media sites are becoming a primary means of communication for a number of groups. The relationship between family communication patterns and offline interaction has long been studied. However, there is a marked scarcity in research examining the relationship between family communication patterns and online interaction. Data collected from a group-administered survey of 246 undergraduate students was used to examine eleven hypotheses related to family communication patterns, self-esteem, social media use, and online/offline family interaction. Family communication patterns were labeled as either high conversation-orientation or high conformity-orientation. Existing research suggests that these communication patterns are inversely related and a correlation analysis in this study supports this notion. The results indicate that there is a positive correlation between high conversation-orientation families and both online and offline family interaction as well as measures of self-esteem. Additionally, the results indicate that there is a negative correlation between high conformity-orientation families and offline family interaction. No significant correlations were found between high conformity-orientation families and either self-esteem or online family interaction. Future research should consider motivations behind actions as this may significantly impact how respondents view and evaluate their interaction patterns.</p>

<p> During the 2016 presidential election season, Senator Ted Cruz&rsquo;s use of social media to promote his campaign and build up a grassroots following was masterful. This case study explores Cruz&rsquo;s digital outreach efforts in the shadow of GOP rival Donald Trump&rsquo;s commanding use of traditional earned media. This case study views the Cruz campaign&rsquo;s digital outreach strategy through the lens of the Agenda Setting theory of communication, which seeks to explain the mass media&rsquo;s ability to influence what the important issues are to the public, and through the reverse agenda setting effect, meaning if the airtime is unavailable through traditional means, the opportunity to create their own media space is open to anyone that needs it, and their own agenda will be established for the digital audience.</p>

<p>Internal communication is very important for the success of an organization. The county council Landstinget i Värmland is a large organization with many managers on different positions. Every one of these managers gets an email every week, with the message that a new manager letter, called Chef, is published on the intranet. With my paper I am examining what the managers think of this letter, how they use it and if managers on different positions differ from each other in opinions about and use of the letter. I want to find out if there is a need of Chef as a part of the internal communication of Landstinget i Värmland.</p><p>To answer these questions, I have chosen a quantitative method in the form of a questionnaire which is send to all the receivers of the manager letter. The result shows that Chef seems to be a largely successful information channel. A majority of the managers look through at least most of the issues, think that most of the contents is important to read and do not think that another channel could replace the manager letter. The majority also find the contents topical and reliable and find it rather useful.</p><p>A clear purpose of Chef is that the managers should read it and then inform their co-workers. The result shows that a majority of the managers inform their co-workers but I think there are too many that do not. The managers’ communicative responsibility should therefore be more clearly described so they understand what is expected from them. Moreover they should be supported to develop their communication skills.</p><p>The differences between managers on different positions are not that big but they do exist. The division managers who are high up in the hierarchy and are included in a managerial body are more content with Chef than what the head of departments and the managers of service works are who are more distant from the management. Those who are responsible of Chef should consider how these differences could be reduced.</p><p>Problems shown should give occasion to improvements but is not reason enough to stop the publication of Chef, which is a well established channel. Obviously, there is nothing like a good Chef.</p> / <p>Internkommunikation är av mycket stor vikt för en organisations framgång. Landstinget i Värmland är en stor organisation med många mellanchefer på olika befattningar. Alla dessa får varje vecka ett mail om att ett nytt chefsbrev, Chef, utkommit på intranätet. Med min uppsats undersöker jag hur cheferna uppfattar och använder sig av detta chefsbrev samt om uppfattning och användning skiljer sig åt bland olika befattningsgrupper. Jag önskar ta reda på om Chef behövs som en del av landstingets interna kommunikation.</p><p>Studiens frågeställningar försöker jag besvara genom att använda mig av en kvantitativ metod i form av en enkät som skickas ut till alla mottagare av chefsbrevet. Resultatet av studien visar att Chef till stor del verkar vara en lyckad informationskanal. En majoritet av cheferna tittar igenom åtminstone de flesta numren, anser att en större del av innehållet känns viktigt att ta del av och anser inte att någon annan kanal skulle kunna ersätta chefsbrevet. Majoriteten upplever också att innehållet är aktuellt och tillförlitligt samt att de har ganska stor nytta av brevet i sitt arbete.</p><p>Ett uttalat syfte med Chef är att cheferna i Landstinget i Värmland ska läsa det och vidareinformera till sina medarbetare. Resultatet visar att en majoritet av cheferna ofta vidareinformerar men jag anser att den andel som inte gör det är alltför stor. Chefernas kommunikativa ansvar bör därför tydligare beskrivas så att de förstår vad som förväntas av dem, samtidigt som de bör få hjälp att utveckla sin kommunikativa förmåga.</p><p>Skillnaderna mellan hur de olika befattningsgrupperna uppfattar och använder sig av Chef är inte så stora men vissa skillnader finns. Divisionscheferna som befinner sig högt upp på organisationsschemat och ingår i en ledningsgrupp är mer nöjda med Chef än vad avdelningschefer och chefer inom serviceverksamheter, som befinner sig längre ifrån ledningen är. Ansvariga bör fundera på hur dessa skillnader skulle kunna minskas.</p><p>De problem som visat sig finnas bör åtgärdas men är givetvis inte anledning nog att avveckla chefsbrevet, som ändå är en väl fungerande, etablerad kanal. Det visar sig alltså att en bra Chef går hem.</p>

<p> This study interprets the public perceptions of feminism and gender equality in Nigeria as reflected in the media. In recent times, the issue of gender equality has been subject to numerous debates in Nigeria. My interest in this issue stems from the increased awareness of feminism and a growing feminist movement in the country. This thesis details the popular opinions on feminism found on Nigerian blogs, online newspaper columns, social media and the likes. The purpose of this research was to (1) analyze feminism as a discourse in the Nigerian society (2) identify the existing gender issues (3) contribute to the growing body of transnational feminism. The findings reveal the dynamic interplay of gender and culture. The main discourses are centered on the relevance/irrelevance of feminism and the advocacy for the girl child rights. These findings have implications for the larger discourse regarding the correlation between culture and gender equality. Furthermore, findings indicate that issues concerning gender inequality is mostly linked with the cultural expectations of the particular society.</p>

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<p> Currently, 27 states have medicalized marijuana, and eight states plus the District of Columbia have legalized marijuana for recreational use. The media have played a central role in these campaigns by having a robust effect on perceptions of marijuana policy. The media have also been used throughout history to influence individual behavior, particularly surrounding marijuana and other drug use.</p><p> To analyze the media&rsquo;s effects on voting on marijuana initiatives and shifts in perceptions of marijuana policy, risk, harm, and use, this study anonymously surveyed 664 undergraduates. The students were selected using multistage cluster sampling of all departments and courses at a diverse, large university. Findings indicate that the media do not have a significant impact on beliefs and behaviors when peers and social bonds are control variables. Implications include utilizing the media to target peers and parents, an interdisciplinary approach, and utilizing social media for drug reform and prevention efforts. </p>